Trump ad misleads on Haley's record on gas tax as South Carolina governor | Fact check

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The claim: Post implies Haley reversed herself by pushing for gas tax hike as governor

A Facebook ad begins with on-screen text that reads "THE LIE," followed by a clip of former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaking at a Republican primary debate.

"You got bad information. I fought the gas tax in South Carolina," Haley says.

It continues with on-screen text that reads "THE LIE EXPOSED" and a clip of a speech then-governor Haley gave in 2015.

"Let's increase the gas tax by 10 cents over the next three years," she says.

The ad placed by former President Donald Trump's campaign was distributed to more than 1 million screens from Feb. 16 to Feb. 24, according to analytics from Meta's ad library.

More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Our rating: Missing context

The implied claim here is wrong. The ad fails to mention that Haley only agreed to increase the gas tax if it was paired with an income tax cut.

Haley never signed gas tax increase as South Carolina governor

In 2015, Haley mentioned increasing South Carolina's gas tax during her State of the State address – the same clip played in the ad. However, the ad doesn't mention that Haley only agreed to support such an increase if it was paired with an income tax cut.

In that same speech, Haley explains she would only support a gas tax increase if it meant the state's income tax was cut from 7% to 5%.

"As I've said many times, I will veto any straight-up increase in the gas tax," she said. "That's just not going to happen while I'm governor. It's the wrong thing for South Carolina."

Fact check: McConnell stepping down from GOP leadership post, not Senate

Haley's budget proposal in 2016 included the same proposal – a 10-cent gas tax increase paired with a 2% income tax cut, WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, South Carolina, reported.

“I’m going to veto anything that is a net tax increase,” Haley said at the time, echoing her speech from the year before.

South Carolina had one of the lowest gas taxes in the country at the time, and it had not increased since 1989, according to the Tax Foundation.

Ultimately, the proposals didn't pass, and Haley never signed a gas tax increase during her time as governor. In 2017, the state's lawmakers increased the gas tax after Haley left office, overriding a veto by then-Gov. Henry McMaster.

PolitiFact also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaperhere.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of theInternational Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment tononpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant fromMeta.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump ad on Haley proposed gas tax increase is misleading | Fact check